Oil prices climbed during Wednesday's Asian trade following an Israeli strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar and a call from United States President Donald Trump for Europe to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, though overall market weakness limited gains.
By 3:15 pm AEST (5:15 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up 67 cents, or 1%, at $67.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 66 cents, or 1.1%, to $63.29.
Both benchmarks had risen 0.6% in the previous session after Israel confirmed it targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, an assault Qatar’s prime minister warned risked derailing peace talks.
ANZ analysts said: "This is the first strike in the region since the beginning of the nearly two-year conflict. It also stands to jeopardise U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
"However, the gains in oil prices are unlikely to be sustained without any escalation that directly targets oil infrastructure or trade flows."
The market reaction was relatively muted. Both benchmarks briefly surged nearly 2% immediately after the strike, but later pared gains after Washington assured Doha that no further such actions would occur on its territory.
In parallel, Trump has reportedly pushed for the European Union to impose 100% tariffs on China and India, a move aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China and India remain two of the largest purchasers of Russian oil, helping Moscow weather Western sanctions since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Oil traders are also watching next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, where expectations of a rate cut could support energy demand. However, analysts warned that underlying fundamentals remain weak.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said global crude prices are likely to come under renewed pressure in the coming months due to rising inventories as OPEC+ ramps up output.
